The new Omicron COVID-19 variant has been confirmed in 16 out of 177 people arriving in Russia from South Africa, which proves its high transmissibility, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Tatyana Golikova said on Monday, AzVision.az reports citing TASS.
The Omicron variant was detected in 16 out of 177 people who returned [to Russia] today. All of them remain under observation, but there is only one reason why I am citing this data - to reconcile these figures. It stands at almost 10%, a fairly high level, and this points to high transmissibility and possible spread," Golikova noted.
The World Health Organization on November 26 assigned the Greek letter Omicron to coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 that was discovered in southern Africa. The WHO stated the variant has a large number of mutations, some of which cause concern. South Africa has the most Omicron cases, while the strain has been detected in a total of 63 countries. Meanwhile, no fatalities due to the new strain have been recorded so far.
